


7 types of intelligence

by Joujou14



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Archery, Awesome Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Field Trip, Friendship, Hurt Clint Barton, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Team Bonding, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joujou14/pseuds/Joujou14
Summary: Clint's day is as normal as ever - until he gets reminded how stupid he is.Or: Tony didn't realize that he hurt Clint's feelings and tries to show him that he is smart in his own way.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 38





	1. Feeling stupid

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work ever on this page so please bare with me and please review :) I would like to hear your opinions on this one.
> 
> I don't own the characters and english is not my mother language so sorry for any mistakes... Enjoy it and leave a comment :)

Waking up on the top of his kitchen counter was kind of uncomfortable and Clint’s neck was paying the price for napping on a surface that wasn’t designed to be slept on. Yawning Clint tried to stretch out the knots in his muscles but it didn’t really work out so he decided that a good strong coffee and some exercise would do him good. Making his way trough the big apartment he had to dodge a few of the scattered pizza boxes laying on the ground. There were some clothes too, but he had no problem stepping on them instead of making the effort to walk around him.

Opening his big closet Clint remembered that he forgot to turn the coffee maker on. “JARVIS?” The AI immediately answered in the always polite way everyone was used to. “Yes Sir?” Clint rolled his eyes and pulled out a black shirt along with a plain blue jeans. “I already told you not to call me Sir. Call me Barton or Clint or even Hawkeye but Sir is making me uncomfortable.” He made his way over to the bathroom as JARVIS replied with an “Of course…. Agent Barton. How can I help you?” “Could you please turn on the coffee machine? I’ll take a shower in the meantime.”

The machine sputtered to life and a wonderful scent was wafting trough the open living room and kitchen complex. Satisfied with the work of the towers AI Clint turned on the shower and regulated the temperature of the water as hot as he could stand. Maybe the heat and the steady flow of water would be able to ease his tension. Sleeping like that was really a bad idea but to be fair, Clint hadn’t planned on sleeping there. He just happened to fall asleep while he was writing his last report for S.H.I.E.L.D. It had been late and the mission had been exhausting but Fury wanted the report as fast as possible and Clint knew that he always struggled with the words to describe the situation they experience on a mission. He wanted to make an early start and not leave Fury waiting on his report. And he fell asleep late in the evening.

The water was slowly getting too warm for comfort so Clint turned of the shower and grabbed his towel. Looking in the mirror he winced at the picture he saw. His normally clean shaved face was now developing stubbles and the bags under his eyes were clear signs of him not sleeping properly. He had no way of disguising that but he could at least shave. No need to look all rough and scruffy. Said and done Clint was out of the bathroom a few minutes later.

He took the cup of coffee Jarvis had provided and thanked the AI. “You know Jarvis? Sometimes I ask myself why I didn’t have something like you all of my life. It would certainly have been easier for me.” After a few seconds of him slurping his black coffee Jarvis answered. “Well Clint. Mr. Stark developed me and I’m am the only AI that controls a whole tower as far as I know. You couldn’t have had something like this because it was never offered to public use.” Clint rolled his eyes and downed the rest of the cup of black beverage. “Well duh. Never said I would be smart enough to develop you. It was more of a rhetorical question Jarvis. You didn’t learn that from your master?”

He pushed himself of the counter and began picking up the litter on his floor. The trash has been pilling up for a few days now and it was getting out of hand. Sure, Clint had never been the neatest person when looking at his apartments but usually it wasn’t getting this out of hand. Only when he was very deep down in his own head but even then Natasha would pull him out of his thoughts and threaten him to clean up his mess. Not that she would help him but she would kick his ass until he managed to get it done himself. This time he wasn’t in in own apartment and he didn’t need Natasha’s ass kicking. His main motivation was the lack of privacy he had with Tony Stark around and the fact that he had no desire to let Tony actually see his mess.

It had taken him almost thirty minutes to gather the empty pizza boxes and the other take out food he had left. At the same time he gathered his dirty laundry and stuffed it into two bags he normally took to the gym. This time he would have to take them to the laundry laundromat. Sure, he could as Tony to use his washing machine but well, that was kind of embarrassing or Clint was just uncomfortable with asking Tony. Who knows? Taking another look at his apartment Clint smiled. Everything looked cleaner and organized and Clint was satisfied for the moment. He would have to wipe the floor, but that could wait another few hours.

The team had a day of and there would be no meeting so Clint decided that today was the day he would get things done. He grabbed a hoodie from his bed that definitely was too big for him but with the hood on he was non descriptive and would not be recognized on the streets of New York. With the two bags in his hand he made his way over to the elevator and started his journey to the laundromat. You would think that waiting for his clothes to finish would be boring for the famous Hawkeye but he kinda likes to wait. There are people bustling trough the room gathering clothes and interacting with each other. Some were helping others and kids were running round and playing with their toys while their parents were busy sorting trough piles of clothes. He liked observing the others and sometimes he was even smiling at the carefree behavior most of the children had.

A few hours later his laundry was ready and he even managed to make a stop at a wonderful bakery before returning to the Stark Tower- well the Avengers Tower. He greeted Jarvis in the lobby and pressed the button for his floor. He didn’t even step in but rather threw his bags into the hallway with precision before making his way to the main floor. A ping announced his arrival Steve who was currently sitting in the big living room. He glanced up from his magazine and smiled at Clint. “Hey Clint, did you know that Kylie Jenner never went to prom?” Clint shoved the doughnuts he had brought over to Steve and began to laugh. “Wow Captain. I never knew you were the type for gossip. And by the way… I didn’t go to a prom either. Never had the chance but I’m sure I didn’t miss anything.”

Steve was surprised by Clint’s laugh or more by the revelation that he had never gone to a prom. For one Steve thought that everyone in high school would go to one and normally Clint never spoke about his past. He let it slide in order to get a doughnut with red and blue sprinkles. “Oh they are good. Thanks Clint.” But Clint was already on his way out of the living room and waved back at Steve. “No problem Cap thought I would buy a treat for everyone. Enjoy it and leave some for the others.” Clint's next station was the range of course. Today was as good of a day as any to practice his archery and maybe a few pistols as well.

After two hours Clint was sweating from trying out new angles to shoot from and athletic moves he could combine with his shooting. He decided to quit for today so he shoved all his stuff back into his locker. Except from the two arrows that he managed to brake while shooting hanging from the beam that was just under the roof. Well it wasn’t his shooting that broke it… more the landing on it when he jumped down from up there. Clint took another look at the awkwardly angled arrow and winced. “Aww, arrow no.” Changing into a fresh shirt he decided to pay Tony a visit. Tony could make him a few new arrows and maybe he had an idea how to make them even more stable.

“Jarvis, where is Tony currently?” The AI responded immediately. “Mister Stark is in his lab with Dr. Bruce Banner. Should I tell him that you are coming?” “Uhm, no need for that. I’m gonna make it a wuick visit.” The door of the elevator opened to reveal Tony and Bruce hovering above a table discussing about a new version on the iron man suit. Clint made his way over to the two geniuses and cleared his throat in order to make his presence known. Tony looked up at him and whistled. “Look who is here. Bird brain decided to pay us a visit. What can I do for you?” Holding up the broken arrow and rubbing his neck Clint shrugged.

“I thought that maybe you could make me some new arrows. This one broke while I practiced.” Tony took the arrow out of his hand and marched over to his bigger shelves. After a minute of rummaging trough all the stuff he pulled out quiver. “Here you go. I made a docent of arrows after you managed to stupidly lose the last ones on a mission.” Clint grumbled in annoyance. “I didn’t lose them. I had to abandon them when we evacuated the house that was collapsing. No having a fancy suit that is nearly indestructible is kind of making my life harder.” Before Tony could answer something Clint was already making his way back to the elevator and Tony turned his attention back to Bruce after calling out .“See you at the team dinner, Pigeon.”

The rest of the was passing by slowly and Clint decided to spent it in front of the TV in the main living room. After a while Steve and Thor accompanied him to watch some sort of reality TV show. It was nearing dinner time when Natasha arrived, followed by Bruce and Tony. The dinner was more a take out since Tony had ordered all kind of foods from different restaurants. Everyone was happily munchin on their share of food while chatting with each other. Tony was loudly arguing with Bruce about his suit and how some sort of combination of other metals and weapon systems. Clint was trying to follow the conversation but after a while he wasn’t able to follow the two brilliants anymore. “I don’t understand it. Your suit is good as it is. You get everything done and it’s almost unbreakable.”

Tony looked at him like Clint had grown a second head. “Well you would understand it if you were smarter. There are all kind of problems I have to improve. The connection to Jarvis isn’t fast enough and the scanner could be way faster.” Tony was rambling on but Clint wasn’t listening to him anymore. Yeah, Tony was right. He would understand them if he was just a little bit smarter….

The rest of the evening Clint had gone silent and it seemed that no one noticed but Steve had been listening to the heated exchange and was left with the feeling of worry when he saw Clint reaction. Or well, more the lack of reaction to the insult. Normally Clint would be making some sarcastic comment and Tony would have a snarky reply. But this time Clint went silent. Like deadly silent for the rest of the team evening. Steve made a mental note to ask Barton or at least Natasha about it but after a while he forgot about it because everyone, except Barton of course, was participating in the conversation about why listening to Pop-music is just a waste of time.

The discussion about music was getting heated and in retrospect Steve as the team leader should have stopped the fight a long time ago. Clint was just replying to Tony disgust of Rap music when everything went south. “You know Tony, I like to listen to Rap. It’s more interesting than country or Pop and some of the rappers are rather talented with words.” Sensing the opportunity for a snarky remark Tony spoke up. “Yeah, some are. Nothing you would know about.” The room went silent and Clint angrily got up from his position on the carpet. “Sure, go on about how dumb I am.” Steve jumped up from the couch as Clint turned to leave. “Safe your breath Cap. No need to say anything.” Steve turned towards Tony and angrily scolded him.

“You know that Clint sometimes has a problem with words and you still say something like that? That is just mean. Even for you. You should really apologize for making him feel stupid.” Staring at Steve Tony didn’t really know what to say. “I didn’t mean it, obviously. I just made a joke.” Natasha was glaring at him too and stood up. “You hit a nerve. He doesn’t like to be called out on his lack of education. He already feels stupid around you and Bruce.” Somehow Tony had never thought of that.

“But why? He has other things he is way better at than me or Bruce. He is intelligent in his own way!” Steve features softened a bit. “Then maybe you should tell him that. Or rather show it to him.”


	2. naturalist intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Clint get in a plane crash and have to survive the forest.  
> Tony hasn't forgoten that he wants to show his friend how intelligent he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the second chapter.... I hope you like it and I would really like to get a review from you. :)

Naturalist Intelligence

“I hate forests. Did you know that approximately 2000 people get lost in the woods every year? Why the hell would you even want to go on a hike with the possibility to get lost? No water, no civilization and certainly no technology. Not even Jarvis is working anymore.” Tony Stark was rambling about everything and nothing while hobbling around in the under woods. At his side he had Clint Barton aka Hawkeye who was getting annoyed. “Why didn’t we just stay with the Quin-jet? We would have far more convenience there.” 

Clint grunted with the weight of Tony leaning against his side. Not that Tony was heavy, and not that Clint would dare to say otherwise, but Stark had a lot of muscles and his bruised or even broken ribs were protesting against being burdened with another human being. But he had no other option than to pull Tony’s arm closer around his neck so that Tony wouldn’t have to put much weight on his broken ankle. They would be way slower with Tony hissing and bitching every step trough the forest. “I already told you Tony. The guys with the helicopter that were SHOOTING US OUT OF THE SKY are still out there and searching for us. They would just find as hell of a lot faster at the wreckage than in the woods.”

Tony rolled his eyes and stopped in his tracks. The sudden haltering jarred Clint’s ribs and he swore. “Damn it Tony. What’s wrong with you. We have got to cover some ground if you don’t want to be shot by these goons. I think surviving a plane crash is all the luck you are going to get today.” Tony was mumbling something under his breath and for a second Clint thought that Tony might look embarrassed. “What did you say, Tony?” Tony looked up at Clint and repeated his question. “Do you think that we will get out of here?” 

Clint was left speechless for a second because he certainly wouldn’t have thought that Tony would be concerned about that. But Tony hadn’t been thrown into the woods like Clint had at some points in his life, so yeah, maybe that was a normal question to be asked. “Oh tin can. We ARE going to get out of here. For once because this isn’t the forest time that I’m lost in the woods and secondly we have got a whole team searching for us. I did get the distress call out after all. They are just going to take some time because they have to fly out here and they have to find the goons that are after us.” Tony nodded sharply and continued to hobble. 

After another hour both of the man were starting to get tired. “Clint, can we take a break? My feet are hurting and the ankle is throbbing.” Clint nodded and looked around. “Yeah I’m pretty tired too. Over there is kind of a cave. We will get settled there, alright?” Tony squinted his eyes to see the cave Clint pointed at but all he could see were leaves and twigs. But he didn’t see anything. He still followed his companion because he had learned to trust Clint’s eyesight a long time ago. “Let’s just get there. I’m not roadrunner. My energy has run out about two thousand trees ago.” The rest of the way was spend in silence and Clint was grateful for that. 

Shoving away some leaves and part of a bush Clint revealed the relatively small cave of stone. Hastily he threw the backpack he had been carrying around into the cave and continued to push the leaves out with his shoes. They were creating a pile that would partly save them from unwanted attention. Tony would like to help but to be honest, he couldn’t move around without Clint’s help so he would be more of burden that help. Not knowing what to do Tony sat down on the backpack. Not that he could squish anything in there anyways because there was no food much to Tony’s discontent.

After Clint was satisfied with the space he created he sank to the ground at Tony’s side. “Thirsty?” Tony nodded and made an attempt to slide down from the backpack. “You know, I could have a whole meal by now. The crash was what? - five hours ago? I am definitely starviiiiing.” It was Clint’s row to roll his eyes. “You do know that it could take another 20 hours until the others have eliminated the threat and found us, right?” Tony closed his eyes and whined even louder. “How am I gonna survive this? This stupid forest is cold and my ankle and my head are hurting like I don’t know what.” A bottle of water was thrown into his lap and Clint was somewhat smiling at him. “Take some small sips. We don’t want you to vomit, right?”

“Oh shut it. I know how to drink with a concussion. No thanks to you.” Clint just shrugged and picked up a blanket to fold it. “Here. Put that under yourself. We don’t want the famous Stark to get a bladder infection. I wouldn't survive the whining and bitching.” With a glare he took the blanket and shifted uncomfortable. Out of the corner of his eyes Clint could see the grimace Tony was making because his ankle had to be hurting really bad. “Oh come on, I’ll help you.” He grabbed Tony under his armpits and lifted him few inches from the ground while Tony slid the blanket under himself. At least he had thought about leaving enough space at his side so that Clint would be able to sit there too.

But Clint had no intention of sitting down. Instead he grabbed his gun and checked the magazine. After that he took a knife out of his boot and another from the backpack. Then he crouched down at the opening of the cave looking outside. After a few awkward moments Tony couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “You gonna sit watch there all night or what?” Clint shook his head and turned around to face Tony. “No. I’m going to scout the surroundings for food and I’ll create some traps in case these idiots find us.” That made sense so Tony didn’t continue the dialogue. Another few minutes later the sun was slowly disappearing behind the trees. Now was the best time to leave the shelter. 

Clint had made his way out into the forest and Tony was left behind with Clint’s pistol. In case the enemies were coming. Yeah, shoot them my ass, Tony thought. He won’t be able to shoot a person anywhere with the splitting headache he was slowly developing. His vision was slightly swimming and the nausea was getting worse. Letting out a frustrated groan he leaned his head against the uneven surface on his side and closed his eyes. At least it was dark in here without the sun shining anymore. After some time (who knows how long because Tony had no watch and no internal clock like Clint seemed to have) he heard a rustling noise outside. 

He immediately was alarmed and grabbed the weapon he had placed in his lap. After a few seconds the leaves shifted and Clint’s voice called out. “It’s me tin can so don’t shoot me. Or I’m gonna shoot you with an arrow. That hurts far worse believe me.” Tony let out a relief sigh and almost threw the weapon to the ground. “Watch it tin brain. You don’t wanna release a bullet by accident. Not when I’m the one with the food.” The word food immediately caught Tony’s attention. “Which squirrel did you have to rob in order to get food?” A chuckle escaped Clint who grabbed a flashlight and covered it with some fabric. “I didn’t rob a squirrel – at least I don’t think I did.” He held out the few berries and nuts he had managed to find. 

“It’s not much but there is protein in there and you’ll need that for the nausea.” Tony opened his mouth to contradict the accusation but Clint was faster. “Don’t try to bullshit me. You are squinting your eyes and I know for a fact that you hit your head when we crashed. Just take the food and sip some water. The others should be here in round about 12 hours.” Hesitant Tony munched on some berries and was surprised. They weren’t that bad. “Don’t you want some of them?” Grabbing the other blanket Clint shook his head. “I ate when I found them.” Silence settled over them but after half an hour Tony began to shiver. Maybe Clint was shivering too but he made no noise and Tony couldn't see anything.  
“Clint?” A grunt followed. “I’m cold. The jacket is not warm enough and this forest is freaking cold. It’s summer shouldn’t it be warm here?” Clint scooted closer and shook his head. “Nah, it’s about 53 degrees at night.” Suddenly Clint’s arm touched Tony’s. He settled at Tony’s side and tucked one side of the blanket between the stony wall and Tony’s shivering frame. The other end was thrown over Tony and himself to keep both of them warm. “If you lose one word about this I WILL shoot you, understood? The only reason I do this is because Nat will kill me if we don’t survive this shit because of hypothermia.” Tony snuggled closer to Clint and sighed at the warmth coming from Clint’s body. 

“I don’t care as long as I’m warm. But I probably shouldn't go to sleep. Concussion and everything...So tell me about the arrow thing.” Clint pulled up an eyebrow (not that anyone could see that in the damn dark..). “What are you talking about?” Tony mumbled with slight interest. “You said that being shot with an arrow hurts worse that being shot with a bullet. Made the impression that you were shot with an arrow before.” One of Tony’s arm was draped over Clint’s torso in order to get more body heat. Clint went stiff with the contact but slowly relaxed when Tony didn’t make any attempts to get even closer.

“A guy at the circus shot me accidentally. He was still new and he wanted to try to shoot. Trickshot gave him a bow and told him to never point it at a person but that idiot thought he knew better, He drew an arrow and pointed it at me as a joke but he couldn’t hold the weight anymore and it slipped. Ended up hitting me in the shoulder and it got stuck in my shoulder blade. Hurt like a bitch to pull it out and stitch it up. Buck tried his best but I still have the scar.” After a while Clint looked down at Tony. He hadn’t even noticed that Tony’s head was now laying on his chest and his own hand was laying on Tony’s back. “How hard did YOU hit your head?” Clint was slightly confused by the question. “Why would you ask that?”

“Well, you never share anything with us except when you are hurting. It is distracting you from the pain. And you didn’t mention the body contact. You hate to be touched.” Silence fell over the two of them but Clint knew that he couldn’t let Tony fall asleep for longer that an hour at a time. He had a concussion after all. Approximately an hour later Clint shook Tony softly by his shoulder. “Wake up tin can. I have to make sure that you didn’t rattle the genius brain of yours too hard.” It was clear that Tony wasn’t happy with being woken from the dissatisfied grunt he made. “My name is Tony Stark, I’m a genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist. And you are an annoying pigeon.” 

“Sure I am. You would be dead without me, you know.” Tony seemed to agree and closed his eyes again. A few minutes later Clint could feel his breath even out. The long cycle of waking Tony up and trying to stay awake himself was making Clint tired. It was beginning to dawn when he heard rustles. He pulled the blanket away and picked up his gun. “Clint? Tony? We are here. It’s save to come out now.” Clint smiled as he recognized Natasha’s and Steve’s voices. Gently he shook Tony awake. “Hey tin can. Our rescue is here. Time to go home.” Tony blinked wearily and tried to get up from the ground but the pain in his foot reminded him of the accident they were involved in. 

“Shit. It’s definitely broken. A little help here?” Without another word Clint grabbed Tony’s arm and laid it around his shoulder. Slowly and painfully they made their over to their awaiting team. Everyone was smiling when they heard Tony’s rambling. It meant that the genius wasn’t hurt as bad as it could have been. It didn’t take long for them to reach the new Quin-jet where everyone took a seat. Clint was almost asleep sitting up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Tony who looked at him gratefully.

“You know Clint? I have never in my life seen a person with such a high Naturalist Intelligence. You my friend are a brilliant hunter. You never got lost, you saved my life and you somehow know which things in nature you can eat. Truly fascinating.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never forget.... You are intelligent in your own special way ♥


	3. musical intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint is a man of many talents. But so is Tony. Together they are the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter. I would appreciate a comment from you on how you like this chapter. It would make my absolutely boring and lonely day :)  
> Enjoy this chapter and read the notes in the end :)

Musical Intelligence 

It really shouldn’t surprise him and now that he thought about it, Tony’s brain came up with an unclear memory of seeing Clint with drum sticks in his hands… Without ever actually playing the drums. Back at the party he hadn’t given the archers nervous habit a second thought and to be fair, Ultron had crashed the party not long after that. So you really cant blame the genius for not noticing that. 

But now that he was sitting in his lab with someone drumming nearby, his mind was showing him a lot of memories when Clint had shown his rhythmic abilities. There was that time when Tony and Clint had been at a concert. Well not at the concert itself but more like sitting on the open roof with the Iron Man suit. The bass had been heavy and Clint was drumming on the rooftop with his fingers. Now that he was thinking into the past months he could connect all of the dots.

Clint’s archery is really rhythmic. Each arrow was drawn, held and released in different speed to create a specific melody. At least a melody without the real sound. “Jarvis?” The AI replied to his creator. “Yes Sir?” Tony pulled a Stark Tablet from his working bench and grabbed a pencil. “Show me the footage of Agent Birdbrain’s training on the range.” The AI hesitated for a second. “Agent Barton doesn’t like it to be watched when he practices his archery.” Tony rolled his eyes. “I’m just trying to find out more about things Clint could like to make him feel more comfortable. So please, would you be so kind to help me with that?” 

Not a second later the footage of Clint pulling out another arrow from his quiver was loaded on Tony’s Tablet. “Jarvis.” “Yes Sir?” A smile was tugging at Tony’s lips. “You have been manipulated. But I won’t do anything stupid with the footage so don’t ruffle Clint’s feathers about it. Understood?” “Understood, Sir.” The music in the background was quietly filling the room while Tony analyzed the video. There were indeed times when Clint would just simply hit the targets without any evidence of training a special skill. It was at that time that he was creating memorable rhythms one could sing with. “You are crazy Pigeon. You really are.”

Not even a week later random banging on a drum could be heard trough at least three floors of the tower. The first ones to be drawn out by the horrible sounds were Natasha and Clint. When they arrived on the floor where their common living room was located they couldn’t really believe what was happening. Tony was sitting in the middle of a drum set and crashed the sticks onto the cymbals and tom-toms. Natasha covered her ears with her hands and glared at Tony. “What the hell is wrong with you Stark?” Tony stopped the random beating and looked up at the new arrivals. 

“What does it look like? I wanted to try a new instrument.” Natasha ripped the drum sticks out of his hands and glared at him while Clint laughed. “More like trying out a new way of torturing us. Believe me I have been tortured but that might be too much for my ears to bear.” Tony started to pout and rose up from his seat. “Your luck then that I don’t really like it either. Too much work to learn it. It doesn’t even have notes. How can you learn something like that?” Clint was glancing at the drums and Tony could swear that his eyes were almost sparkling. “You know, I already paid for it so I’ll just take it to the soundproof floor. Maybe some day I will figure out how to use this thing.”

It wasn’t that Clint looked at him or anything but Tony could feel the happiness and exitment roll off of Clint. A warm feeling was growing in his own stomach but he quickly dissmised it. He was doing Clint a favor because he felt bad for not letting someone clean the vents in almost a month. He had simply forgotten until he had heard the drumming from his lab and knew that it had to be Clint who was again crawling trough the venting system. Yes, he was just making up for his mistake. No, he wasn’t trying to help Clint release a bit of stress because he likes him.

A few days later Tony had almost forgotten about the drums having been distracted by a new project. “Jarvis, where is Legolas? I have a new type of arrow for him and I need him to test it.” “Agent Barton is currently on the 59th floor.” It took him a few seconds to realize what is on the 59th floor. “He is using the drums, isn’t he?” A video without sound plopped up on a screen in the lab. On the screen he could see Clint sitting in the middle of the drums. His movements were controlled and smooth. It seemed to Tony that Clint’s body was absolutely in tune with what he was doing. For a moment Tony was stuck with watching the movements until he realized that he couldn’t actually hear the music.

“Jarvis. Turn up the volume.” The volume was indeed turned up and Tony stumbled back in surprise. Nirvana’s “Smells like teen spirit” was booming trough the speakers. Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised Tony but somehow he hadn’t thought about Clint liking grunge music. Well, there were a lot of new things to learn about the normally very quiet archer. But at the moment he was too fascinated about Clint’s skills to turn away from the screen. Half an hour later the archer seemed to be done with his session. A smile was ghosting on Barton’s face and Tony couldn’t help but smile as well. “If I had known that you love drumming… I would have brought you ten of them.”

\------------  
Two weeks had passed since Tony had watched Clint drumming and now the whole team was gathering in the big living room. Thor and Steve were chatting with each other while Clint was doing some popcorn for all of them. Bruce and Natasha were standing at the counter having some sort of conversation about some Russian food Bruce had tasted at some point of his life. It took them all a few minutes to decide on the film they wanted to watch but as soon as Jarvis had set the light and the TV’s volume all of them went silent. Throughout the whole film Tony could help but look over to Clint. The archer was calmer than he had seen him in a long time. There was no fidgeting on the floor, no nervous bouncing up a leg and no wringing his hands. He was…. Just calm. 

It was that day that Tony decided to explore more of Clint’s musical abilities. Who knows which skills the archer had hidden away.  
\-------------

It took Tony another few month to find out about yet another secret musical skill Clint apparently had. 

He had been at the lab with Bruce for hours. They had been experimenting with another piece of armor for his suit that could calm down the hulk without actually making him angrier. They hadn’t really been successful but it was time for something to eat as Jarvis had informed them. So they took the elevator first to Bruce’s floor and then further up. Tony had planned to go to the common living area to get a snack but suddenly the elevator stopped. Looking up Tony saw that it had stopped at Clint’s floor. The doors opened and Clint stepped in almost missing Tony already standing there. 

His eyes were focused on the black case in his hand. For a second Tony was puzzled because the bow case was shaped differently until he realized that it was actually a case for an electric guitar. “Who there feathers. No need to run me over.” Clint rubbed his neck and mumbled an apology. “Which floor?” “Ehm, Living area.” Tony rolled his eyes. “I way not be a spy but even I can see that you have a guitar in your hand. Didn’t you want to go to the 59th floor? Your drums are there.” Shit he shouldn’t have said that. He really shouldn’t have said that.

Clint eyes were barely getting bigger but Tony could see the surprise. “Have you been stalking me?” Tony winced a bit at that comment. “Hell nah, I didn’t stalk you. I just happened to search for you when you were there and Jarvis told me so… No I didn’t stalk.” Embarrassment made Clint actually blush, which Tony had never seen before. “And how often did you accidentally see me there?” The elevators doors opened at the 59th floor and Tony stepped out. “Maybe a few times. Not much, only like 15 times?!” Clint rose an eyebrow but stepped out of the elevator. “Well I am sorry.” 

Now Tony was really confused. “What are you apologizing for? If someone should apologize it is me because I stuffed my nose where it didn’t belong. I just really liked it and it was like listening to a private concert in the lab while working. ” Together they made their ways to the soundproof music room. “I should have asked you. The drums are yours and I played on them without your permission.” A laugh escaped Tony’s throat. “Wow, what a spy you are. I bought them for you.” Surprised Clint stopped in his tracks. “For me? Why would you do that?” Tony had no idea why Clint was so surprised. He was a billionaire after all and could afford some not that cheap drums. 

“Because I saw your drums sticks but I knew you had no drums here so I brought some. I knew that you wouldn’t want them if I told you that. So I didn’t.” A real smile was working it’s way on Clint’s lips. “Thanks Tony. They are really great. I hadn’t had the chance to play for I don’t know. Maybe five or six years.” Opening the door Tony winked Clint into the room. “Your skills are still pretty impressive. But I have to ask. Is the guitar another skill you were keeping from me?” Sheepishly Clint pulled out a beautiful Yamaha. “I learned to play in one of the better foster homes back in the days. I just wanted to try if I could still play some things.”

Softly he picked at the strings tuning them by ear. A few minutes later a soft melody was filling the silence between the two man sitting on opposite sides. Suddenly the melody stopped and Tony opened his eyes. “Hey what’s going on feathers. Where is the music?” Pointing at the grand piano in the corner. “You play that right?” Tony was taken aback by the question. “How did you know?” It was Clint’s turn to roll his eyes. “I am a spy after all. It was standing here before you brought the drums. And even if your drumming sucked… you had rhythm in it. So I figured that it is yours. You should play with me.” Tony backed a few steps away with his hands in the air. “Oh no. The piano was great to learn better hand eye coordination but I am not a prodigy or anything. I only know like one song by heart.” 

“Which is it?” Clint’s eyes were still fixed on the grand piano.

Tony tried to play dumb in order to distract Clint. “Which is what?”

Clint looked over at Tony and grimaced. “Don’t play me like an idiot. Which song do you know? Maybe I know it too.” Tony sighed and mumbled “Man like me.” A grin was spreading on Clint’s face. “You see? I know that one since I was a scrawny teenager. Sit down and get warm. You are playing with me.” Tony wanted to refuse but Clint’s pleading look was enough to convince him. He sat down on the Piano stool and clinked around on the keys until he figured out which chords he would need. After a few circles of the same few chords Clint set in with the guitar. The new sounds were harmonizing perfectly. Shy at first Tony started to sing the text and was surprised when Clint started to sing with him.

This is the night I've been dreaming of forever  
The mirror takes a look at my face  
I'll never set foot in that rat hole again  
But I'll drive to your place

I spit gravel as I back out of the back door  
And the twenties roll around in my hand  
It's funny now, when I don't show up on Monday  
They'll go nuts, and eat their hats, well, what do you think of that?

She says, you're throwing life away  
To move with a man like me  
She's not blind  
She just don't have mind to see

This is a habit I'm breaking now forever  
I'm weary from trying to shake it  
So when I ask if you won't give me your hand  
I'll take it right now from your mother's side of town

She says, you're throwing life away  
To move with a man like me  
She's not blind  
She just don't have a mind to see

She says, you're throwing life away  
To move with a man like me  
Just to move with a man like me

Their voices where beautifully together and Tony felt something tugging at his heart when the song came to an end. “Wow.” It wasn’t often that Tony was stunned speechless but right now he had no idea what to say. “I have no idea what to say… That….was amazing.” Clint nodded along and let out a breath he didn’t even notice he was holding. “Yeah, I thought so too. Would you… would you like to … repeat that sometime?” Tony nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely. You have such a great voice!” Clint seemed embarrased by the attention. “You aren’t so bad yourself. Didn’t know that you could sing.” “Touché.”

Together they spent another few hours in the room testing some chords and exchanging experiences with different instruments. They had to get back to their team when an alarm sounded. “Clint? You have really high musical intelligence. And don’t you dare say otherwise. I’ve never seen someone so involved in his music. It is like you are floating in the notes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And? Did you get the reference?  
> If you didn't - here is the answer :  
> "Man like me" is actually a song by Robert Downey Junior. You should listen to it. And check out Jeremy Renner's singing as well. Maybe you'll love their singing as much as I do :) Stay healthy


	4. bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sparing session ends badly with Tony being physically hurt and Clint's emotions getting hurt. Tony tries to save the situation before it is too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took me longer to post this chapter but I was busy with Christmas and everything. I hope you still like it and I would really appreciate a review from you. Please tell me if you liked it or of you would like to read something specific next time.

Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence

Tony had been up the whole night, and why not? It was his lab, his tower and his new project he had to work on. The only thing that was ruining the quiet morning was Jarvis voice echoing trough the lab. “Sir. The Captain wants all of the avengers to assemble in the living room.” Tony who had been resting his head on the surface of his working desk groaned. “It is six o’clock in the morning. I am not going up there if it’s nothing that threatens the existence of the world.”

Jarvis was quiet for a second and Tony almost believed that he had convinced Cap to leave him alone. But no such luck. It wasn’t Jarvis voice echoing trough the lab but rather Captain America himself. “Stark, come up here. We agreed to work on our hand to hand fighting. Without you suit on.” Sliding from his comfortable chair Tony rolled his eyes. “I didn’t agree to do anything. I am freaking Iron Man. Leave me the hell alone with sparring. I always have my suit on me so please leave me alone.” Sadly Captain America was stubborn when talking about fighting. Much to Tony’s annoyance.

“The team is waiting for you. Don’t let them wait to long or else I’m sending Widow after your sorry ass.” “Language Steve, Language.” His words were lost in his lab because Steve had already hung up on him before he had the chance to protest. Really, Tony Stark is the billionaire of the group. Without him there wouldn’t be a team for Steve to torture so why the training for him? He was fine the way he lived so far. No hand to hand combat and no broken noses from fighting with Natasha. Another groan escaped Tony when he thought about the threat Steve had given him. Yes, he would go up there because he was far too intelligent to let Natasha come down here. She would pull him up there by his ears or worse and his new clothes wouldn’t like that. And no, he wasn’t afraid of Natasha. But don’t tell her that he said that!

Begrudgingly he trotted down to the elevator and rode down to the gym. When he stepped out of the elevator he was already greeted with the others of his team warming themselves up. Natasha glanced up at him but returned to her stretching routine while Steve made his way over to the genius who seemed lost in the gym. “Good to see you here, Tony. I am sorry for being unfriendly but I still can’t talk to a computer. It seems strange.” Tony waved him away. “Don’t twist your pants Cap. I’ve heard unfriendlier people who wanted more from me.”

Steve nodded and made his way over to the mat in the middle. “Please assemble here, team. Today I want us to spare with each other. Each of us have different skills and different tactics. If we teach each other the tactics we get a broader skill set. Any objections?” Bruce sat down on the bench and reached for his science book. “I think it is clear that I won’t participate. The Hulk is always smashing something. He does not really need any knowledge of hand to hand fighting.” Steve nodded and looked over at Natasha and Clint. “I am more than happy to teach Tony a lesson.” A snicker came from Clint but Steve shook his head. “I don’t think that it would be a good idea to let Natasha beat Tony up. You will be teaching me and maybe you can learn something from me. Clint will be working with Tony.” 

Clint smiled at Natasha and went over to Tony. “Well I don’t know if I should be offended. Don’t you think that I am able to destroy Iron Pants?” Steve opened his mouth to object but Clint was already smiling at him. “Cap, I am kidding. I know that Natasha would simply beat Tony for the fun of it. I have way more patience and way less problems with actually teaching him something.” The teams went for individual mats and started with light punching exercises. After a while Natasha and Steve were full on punching and dodging. Neither of them gave the other any mercy while circling each other. Bruce was actually fascinated by the different approaches the two Avengers chose. 

Natasha was dodging a lot of the punches and ducked under Steve’s arms to hit him in the back. Steve had figured it out after a few minutes and pulled his punches. Instead he tried to be more light footed like Nat to swing around while she was starting the attack from behind. He was getting better at fending of Natasha’s fist but she was still a few milliseconds faster that him. The other side around Steve thought Natasha how to center her weight more on the leg farther from her enemy. That would give her the advantage of catching him of guard while their punch would go wild. 

Tony was fascinated with their dancing like fighting and wasn’t really paying attention to Clint. The other man smiled at his opponent who wasn’t paying attention. He murmured to himself.” Teach him a lesson. Learning he will.” He let himself fall on the floor without making a sound and rolled himself around Tony’s legs. In one swift motion he slipped his left leg in between Tony’s ankles and pulled it back while pushing his opponents hip with his right arm. A grunt escaped Tony’s mouth while flailing his arms around in an attempt to save his face from planting into the floor. It was of no use as his nose made painful contact with the mat. All the attention shifted towards Tony who was now sitting on the floor and Clint who had already gathered himself from the floor. 

“What the hell is wrong with you Clint? Why are you trying to kill me?” The smile slipped of Clint’s face when he heard Tony say his real name. Normally the billionaire would think of some nickname for the archer. His real name was only used when Tony is really angry and that seemed to be the case right now. “Sorry. Didn’t know that you would face plant like that. Normally Natasha catches her falls.” The billionaire slowly stood up and shoved Clint away who wanted to help him. “Not everyone is damn carny like you.” For a moment the silence in the gym was deafening. Mere seconds later Clint picked up his towel and left the others standing. “Shit. I didn’t mean it like that.” The others took their towels as well and began to stretch. There would be no more training for today before the two of them sorted their misunderstand out.

Tony instantly regretted what he said so he went towards the elevator. Clint had taken the stairs but Tony had no idea to which floor Clint would go and Clint was far to agile for him anyways. “Jarvis? Where did Agent Barton go?” The AI scanned the Tower and answered. “Agent Barton seems to be located on the roof of the tower. And he seems agitated. His heart rate is elevated and his position on the edge of the roof does not seem safe.” Tony groaned and pushed the button to the highest floor where he arrived a few seconds later. Pushing the safety door opened he was greeted by sunshine and a low breeze. It was a beautiful morning but a few hours later and it would be really hot. He could see Clint sitting on the railing. “Hey Birdbrain. I am sorry okay? Could you please come on this side of the edge? I would hate to fly after you when you fall.”

It was silent for a few seconds before Clint’s rough voice responded. “What would you care? Just a carny tumbling.” It wasn’t often that Tony was speechless but now everything was depending on what he would say so he t4ried to think before speaking for once. “I am sorry that I made you think like that. Like I don’t care about you or that I think less of you just because you were raised in a circus. I care about you. Deeply. And it would hurt me very much if you would die either in combat or somehow other. I am sorry that I said that because it did not bring the message I intended to give you.” Desperation was showing in Tony’s movements as he approached Clint. “You are my friend and I didn’t mean to hurt you, alright?” 

He felt his heart crack even more when Clint looked up to see him in the eyes. “I AM just a carny. I have no superpowers, I am not a god and I am not even good looking like Natasha even when she isn’t deadly.” Tony pulled Clint down from the railing. “No. You are not and that is good. A group of super-soldiers, gods and ruthless assassins would never survive without a soul. Someone who shows them what it means to have a heart and feelings. I tend to forget that I hurt people around me but you are one of the very few people who manages to bear me. What I really meant to say back at the gym was that I envy you.” “Sure you do. Mister genius.” Clint had again turned away from Tony and looked over the awakening city. “I have nothing you would be envious of.” 

“Yes there is. You are the most talented marksman I have ever seen. And it is a good thing you were a carny. It gave you the ability to move quietly like a cat and you aren’t afraid of heights. I was angry that you managed to take me down because I hadn’t even seen you. You were agile and fast. A grown man shouldn’t be able to move that fast. It is a skill that no one in the team manages to do like you. We all can learn from you. Just like Steve said… all of us are special.” A smile was ghosting over Clint’s face. “Your speech couldn’t get any cornier, could it?” Their laughter was sounding over the roof. “You get that kind of crap if you don’t let me sleep. And I hit my head pretty hard on that mat. Maybe I am dying. You killed me, feathers.” 

Clint rolled is eyes and hung his arm around Tony’s neck to pull him towards the door. It’s time for some sweet breakfast. I’ll make you pancakes as an apology. Tony gladly followed his crew mate. “But I want some with chocolate chips and you have to show me some of your tricks.” Clint nodded and pushed the button to call the elevator. 

……………….

A few days later you could hear grunts coming from the gym. “I don’t get that. How can you move like that. I can barely touch my toes and you are tumbling like you have no spine or flexible bones.” The archer was showing Tony one of his routines he had learned from the acrobatics. “It is not that hard. I mean I could shoot an arrow, do the cartwheel and shoot another after that.” Suddenly he was attacked by the big medicine balls but his stance never ones faltered. “You know birdbrain? Your bodily-kinesthetic intelligence has to be astronomically good for something like this. Show me the cartwheel again but with a flip after it.” Normally Clint hated to be reminded of the old days. But somehow he liked to show Tony his skills. He felt appreciated by the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays or workdays to everyone! Remember you are special and try to remind others of that, too :) Spread love ♥


	5. mathematical logical intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint gets into trouble... But it gives Tony the opportunity to show teenage Clint that he is indeed intelligent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year to everyone. I hope this one will be a great one for you ♥  
> I know this one took a bit longer but it is longer than the other ones. SO enjoy and leave a review. I would really like to hear from you :) Keeps me motivated...

Mathematical Logical Intelligence

“Iron Man, you are taking the sky. I want updates on the mercenary army. They will spread out to cover more ground and to confuse us but we can’t let them out of sight, copy?” Stark was already starting to rise up. “Sure. I’m flying and the gangsters aren’t going anywhere. Consider it done.” Captain America nodded and turned towards the others. “Alright. Natasha is coming with me. We two are going into the lab. Maybe we get to know what they are after. Hawkeye, you are taking position on the roof so you can see the exit.” 

Clint nodded and started the jog towards the building opposite to the scientific research building. “I’m not going to the roof. I’ll be taking position in the stairwell. From there I can see the exit without being exposed.” Agreement rang trough his ear piece but Stark couldn’t help but let a comment loose. “Good idea. You manage to get yourself into a lot of trouble lately. Maybe I should build you a suit like mine with less armor and more purple.” Clint was growling. “You should shut your mouth and keep your eyes open. Try to reach Fury for information.” 

Steve clinked himself into the conversation. “That would be good. We have no clue what they are trying to steal. It is important to know how to handle the substances in there.” Natasha huffed in annoyance. “Can you all do your jobs instead of talking over the comms? You are giving the enemy your positions away.” The whole team fell into silence and everyone took their position. Inside of the building Steve and Natasha came to the floor on which they could see the mercenaries. “Natasha, you circle left I’ll take the right side. Be careful we don’t know what we are dealing with.”   
The two of them split up taking out a few of the soldiers silently. Suddenly one of them turned around and screamed at the others to run. It became obvious that they knew what they were doing because everyone scattered into a different direction. “Guys. Pay attention, they are running. I’ll take the one with the black suit case. Natasha take after the one with the silver case.” Steve ran towards the stairs where he saw the other man run. The door was slammed open with more force than strictly necessary but Steve couldn’t help it. He was in a rush and Stark would pay the owners of the lab for the now broken door. The other goon was looking back at him and startled. So maybe not a professional after all.

Steve sped up a bit an almost caught the guy by his shirt when the man suddenly pulled a door open and ran trough the hall. Wasting no time Steve immediately ran after him. “Stop. You aren’t going anywhere. We have a whole team waiting for you out there.” To his surprise the other man really stopped. But instead of surrendering he pulled out a small devise he had in the black case. Before Steve could do anything about it the other already threw it to the ground. Steve had no idea what really happened but a flash erupted and turned the world white for a second. His ears rang for a second or two but his empowered healing dealt with it immediately.

When he managed to look up again he saw the other man on the ground. But he wasn’t really a man anymore. A toddler was now sitting on the floor looking up at him with big eyes. “What the hell is going on?” He noticed that his comm was still working when Tony scolded him. “Language, Steve. What happened over there? I saw a white flash covering one of the facility’s floors and a few of the neighboring houses.” Steve was still dumbstruck and picked up the toddler along with the suit case. Using his shield he pushed the device back into the case and clicked it shut. 

“I have a child here. And I am fine by the way. Thanks for asking.” Tony was full on laughing now while Natasha seemed concerned. “What child? I thought we evacuated the whole building and all the others around. I caught my one and he won’t run away anytime soon and I am coming over. Where are you?” Steve looked down at the child and grimaced. “I am two floors below the one we split on. And We did evacuate. I think the flash turned one of the mercenary into a child. At least that’s the only explanation I have.”

It took Natasha another two minutes to find Steve who really had a child on the arm that seemed to by comfortable, and sleepy. “Shit, you did tell the truth. What are we going to do with him?” Suddenly Iron Man flew to the front of the now busted windows. “Well I did catch the other goons and Shield is currently arresting them. We give this little criminal over to Fury and let him decide what to do with him. After that I am going to chew him out for not letting us know what they were trying to steal.” The others nodded in agreement and made their way over to the exit where they met up with Tony. He was the one suddenly remembering that they were missing someone. “Guys? Why can’t I see or at least hear our pigeon? He is always talking over the comms.” 

Giving the child over to an agent he looked around. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him in a while. Maybe he is still in the building making his way over the...” The haltering irritated Tony. “Could you end your sentences? I am not a mind reader.” Natasha seemed to catch onto the captains thought. “Which floor was Clint on?” Hell broke loose when all three of them began to ran towards the next building. Running up the staircase Natasha ans Steve almost tripped over each other. In the meantime Tony used his suit to speed up the process. Landing in the broken window leading to the stairs he swore. “I found him and you won’t like it.”

The other two saw it when they arrived. A child in black gear was lying on the floor unconscious, bleeding from a head wound. His sandy blond hair was sticking out into different directions and his arrows were scattered around him. “Is that Clint?” Natasha nodded carefully and made here way over the shards of glass surrounding her now de-aged best friend. “He turned into a child as well. But not as young as the other guy. We have to get him out of here and to Bruce. He will help with the wound.” Steve had already made his way over to her and turned the young boy around. Carefully sliding his arm under the knees and around Clint’s shoulders he lifted the limp boy up. “Let’s get to the quin jet. We’ll take him to shield medical.”

Tony followed the trio by foot and used the opportunity to shoot a photo of the pair making their may down the stairs. Maybe he could blackmail Clint with that later. Or he would just sent it Pepper. She would like to see the archer as a child. She generally loved children and could help them deal with the strange situation.

It took them a few minutes to sneak out of the scene flooded with agents and police. But they managed to make their way to the jet where Bruce was waiting. He hadn’t been wearing his comm and was confused by the sight greeting him. “What happened? And why are you taking a child with you?” His questions were answered by Tony who grabbed the first aid kit and gave it over to Bruce. “We will get to know more when Shield analyzes the device that was almost stolen but it seems to be some kind if device to de-age people in the radius of 200 feet. Steve wasn’t affected. Well, maybe he was but being over a hundred years old you can’t really see it and the criminal was turned into a toddler. Let’s hope that it isn’t permanently.”

They would learn later that Clint being unconscious during the whole flight was in fact a blessing.

…………………  
“Please, Agent Barton. I have to take a blood sample. We need to analyze it.” A medic ran out the door a few seconds later with a scowl on her face and ran straight into Steve. “He isn’t letting us do anything. He is only sitting ducks in his room because it is a special room Natasha organized for Barton so he can’t escape. We have to do tests and screenings to know what is going on but he is stubborn and already broke one of my nurses the nose.” Rubbing his tired eyes Steve nodded. “I’ll get the team and we’ll try to get him to cooperate. Thanks for the effort and please excuse him. He has to be confused. He doesn’t remember anything from his life as an adult does he?” 

“No. It seems that he completely changed into the boy he was. With the knowledge from then and the abilities from then. But don’t underestimate him. He looks scrawny but he has a mean punch.” In the meantime Natasha and Tony arrived in front of Clint’s door. “Time to inform the little one.” Pushing the door open Tony froze in place. “What happened here?” The others pushed around him to see what happened and noticed Clint passed out in the corner of the room. His looked like a bomb exploded. Medical things lying around and his sheets tangled into a messy nest in which he was currently sleeping. Natasha was the first one to move again. 

She made to attempt to be quiet and stopped a few feet away from Clint. “I know you aren’t sleeping. And you have no chance to escape. We know your fighting style.” The young boy opened his eyes and glared at the three adults standing in his room almost invading his personal space. “I won’t go back to the orphanage. I am done there.” A few seconds of silence passed until Steve moved to sit in front of Clint. “We won’t take you back to the orphanage. But I want to tell you what happened. And I need you to give me a chance because it sounds really strange.” He interpreted the boy’s silence as a silent consent to continue. 

“I am Captain America and this is Natasha Romanoff. Over there is Tony Stark aka Iron Man. You are Clint Barton and a part of our Team. We are called the Avengers and we fight crime together. Today a mission went wrong and you were hit with some sort of new technology that turned you into a twelve year old. And here we are now. We won’t call the child services but we would like to take you to the Avengers tower were we all live until the problem is resolved.” To his credit Clint hadn’t made an attempt to fight his way out and had listened to Steve’s story. 

“I think you are talking lots of bull. But I don’t wanna go back to that hell hole. And I hate hospitals so I’m gonna go with ya. But I tell ya, try something funny and I’ll kick your ass.” Maybe it should have shocked the team how vulgar his language at his age but they knew that his upbringing had been less than friendly. Tony tried to cheer the situation and grabbed some new clothes from the night stand and threw them at Clint. “Cover up and meet us out there. I have your favorite car out there.” 

It took the teen about two minutes to gather himself and change into the new clothes which surprisingly fit quite well and were relatively stylish. He opened the door and was greeted by three pairs of eyes watching him. “Can we go now?” Tony threw his arm around Clint’s shoulder and almost got a punch in the rib cage for it but he didn’t pull away. At first Clint had been startled by the physical contact but he knew that Tony Stark was rich and maybe he could profit from staying at his house so he didn’t do anything against it. The car Tony had been talking about was indeed his favorite car and it was even purple. Clint wondered for a second why a man like Stark would have a purple car. Barney had always said that purple is a color for girls. To his shock Tony even allowed him to sit in the passengers side while Steve and Natasha made their way towards another car. “We’ll see each other at the tower.”

………………..  
It was now three weeks ago that Clint was introduced to the tower and the whole team. Bruce was very kind but a little shy and Clint had no idea why. Well, he didn’t care either because less attention was good for him. The big guy from the other world was kind of scarier. He was almost always shouting or hitting him in the arm. It was meant to be friendly but his arm was starting to hurt, not that Clint would ever tell the others. They might get mad at him for being a weakling. He was mostly in his own room trying to avoid the others who only bothered him when a team lunch was on the list of things for him to do.

Another week later Tony Stark suddenly knocked on his door. The teen warily looked at the door and stood from his bed. It was always an advantage to stand. Lying on the bed would make him more exposed to being pushed down and….   
He stopped the thought and focused on the now entering man who looked around. “Boy you are still wearing the same two things I brought to the hospital. You should get something new.” Clint was confused for a second but didn’t bother asking. 

“I wash my clothes in the bathroom and I am always clean. I won’t embarrass you Mister Stark but I can’t really afford new clothes.” Tony was now looking directly at him and he didn’t feel comfortable at all. “Clint, how many times? You can call me Tony. We were really good friends before and I meant that I would like to take you shopping. Make it a field trip where we get to know each other better. Come on. I’m not taking a no for an answer.” 

The trip itself was actually not as bad as Clint would have thought. Sure there was a lot of paparazzi everywhere but Happy, Mister Stark’s bodyguard did a good job at holding them away. While strolling through a store Tony picked up a lot of things he thought fitting for a 12 year old while Clint only grabbed two hoodies and two cargo jeans along with some pairs of underwear. “I like this one? What do you think?” Clint just shrugged and continued looking at the floor. “I don’t need that much clothes. Two sets will be sufficient.” Ignoring him Tony still stuffed the shirt into the big bag in his hand. “Well, I think that a 12 year old needs more that two shirts.” 

Clint stopped in his tracks and Tony almost bumped into him. “I am not 12 years old Sir. I am 14.” Tony’s eyes were getting bigger and his mouth was open. “You are 14?” The bag hitting the floor made Clint look up and sadness was showing in his eyes. “I am sorry Sir for not telling you. I thought you knew but I understand that you wanted to adopt a younger boy. I’ll leave tomorrow morning and I’ll pay you for the clothes I need.” His rambling was interrupted when Tony sat on one of the chairs at his side. “No Clint. I don’t want a younger boy. I don’t want to adopt anybody.” Clint made another step back and he looked ready to bolt any second.

Tony sighed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I would adopt you if I could but you are an adult. Well, you were and you are going to be in a few weeks when the scientist are ready with their studies. I like you and you were my best friend when you were older. I was shocked to know that you are 14 because we all assumed your age because of your weight and height. We were wrong not to ask you.” Clint seemed to be a little bit more at ease because he could tell that Tony was telling him the truth. He would have to get back to some foster home. “Well I didn’t have much to eat as a child and Barney had a lot to do to get some food. I wasn’t a big help.” 

Tony nodded and rose from the chair. “Let’s finish here and then I am buying you the biggest meal from McDonald’s you have ever seen. We need to get some meat on your ribs after all. Don’t want you to loose the muscles you will need as an adult. You wouldn’t even be able to draw your own bow.” Tony was still rambling when they arrived at the tower, packed with clothes and stuffed with lots of food. After the trip Clint seemed to be more confident in staying around Tony and his trust was slowly growing.   
……………….  
It was a few days later that Tony came into the kitchen where Clint was munching on some Poptards trying not to shy away from Tony. A newspaper was thrown on the table and a photo caught Clint’s eye. It was him and Tony when they had been shopping. “What am I supposed to do with that?” Tony grinned at him. “Read it. It is really funny what these journalists think.” He sat down and watched Clint leaning over the newspapers but strangely his eyes weren’t really moving over the text. “Uhm Clint? Don’t you wanna read it?” Embarrassment was starting to show on Clint’s face and tears were glistening in his eyes. “I can’t.” Tony frowned. “What do you mean you can’t? I thought you had perfect vision.”

“I have but I can’t read, alright? I am too dumb to read.” His head was lifted by Tony until he was eye to eye. “Never say that again, Clint! You are not dumb. I didn’t know that you couldn’t read with 15 but I guess I forgot about you being a dyslexic. It was diagnosed when you started at shield but that doesn’t mean that you are stupid. Who said that?” Clint pulled away from Tony and averted his eyes. “My teachers and my parents and sometimes even Barney. He had no problem with reading but I only see random letters but they don’t make sense. That means I am dumb.” 

Pulling over his laptop Tony began to hack into Shield. “I will show you something. Here is a test you had to take back when you started at Shield. They made a verbal IQ Test to see what you score when you don’t have to read and you scored a 127. That is above average and then they let you do mathematics and tactics. And you were even better at that. It takes a lot of logical thinking and mathematics to shoot the bow and arrow like you do. You are the worlds best marksman. It comes to you effortless and you didn’t even realize because you focused too much on the negativity. I am a lot of thinks but I am no liar. You have a high mathematical and logical intelligence and I will prove it to you.”

Together they made quizzes and played chess. Tony used the time he had left with the teenager Clint to show him that his brother had been wrong.  
When Clint was turned back into an adult all the others were relieved. They hadn’t really managed to get into a good relationship with de-aged Clint. So Tony was the only one who knew that Clint could actually remember the second time as a teenager. They made it a new habit to play chess together or other strategic games without the others knowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spread love and remind someone that they are special in their own way :)


	6. interpersonal intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never would Tony have thought that a small boy would threaten him with a bomb. And never would the genius have thought that Clint would talk the boy down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I should be ashamed :( Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter but school started and overwhelmed me with its work.   
> But I hope that you will enjoy this chapter. Please leave a review with your opinion, it keeps me motivated :D

Interpersonal Intelligence

“I’m done with this kind of missions.” Firing up his suit Tony made his way over to the building his team was currently sitting ducks at. “I mean… Am I the only one who manages to stay of the radar? You know, I am a man in a flying suit and yet I am the only one not being stuck in the creepy fortress of the enemy.” He knew that he was rambling and that the others were probably annoyed but he didn’t care. I took Tony all of his will not to fall into a panic attack. 

You ask why? The famous Hawkeye managed to destroy his ear piece and no one knew where he went. Naturally Natasha and Steve went in to find him. But then they found the lab with a lot of armed technicians they now had to fight. And Thor was smashing his hammer trough the walls trying not to bury their friends under a collapsing warehouse-like building in the middle of who knows where. Bruce was still at the quin jet because code green could very much destroy everything they needed to find and kill everyone in that building. 

“Come on Birdy. Where are you?” Tony flew another round over the perimeter. “Jarvis, scan the building and show me where the others are.” It took the AI a few minutes to scan everything but then he answered. “There are a lot of people on the northern side of the building. Two are fighting against the others so I think that is Natasha and Steve.” Steve managed to confirm Jarvis theory while smashing his shield into approaching Hydra agent. “I can see four more heat signatures. One is more on the west. According to my analysis it is Thor.” Tony was getting impatient. “Thor can hold his own. Take me where Birdbrain is at.”

Flying towards the south end of the building Tony saw three heat signatures. “Tell me that the other two are already dead. I have no desire to fight Hawkeye out of there” AI immediately answered. “I am sorry Sir, but they are not dead. Agent Hawkeye seems to be talking to them. At least he is not really moving and his bow is laying on the ground.” Tony swore an sped up another notch. He took another minute to reach his destination and lowered his suit to the ground. “I am going in guys. Trying not to spook anyone who is there.” 

He could hear Clint’s voice from the hallway but he didn’t really seem to be in distress. But the odd thing was that Tony couldn’t understand anything that was said. Was that the voice of a child? His curiosity got the better of him and he marched into the room he knew Clint was in. The sight that greeted him made him regret it instantly. “Shit Legolas. What is going on?” A horrified child was now looking at him pressing his thumb down on what could only be a dead man switch. 

A frustrated sigh escaped Clint but he never turned around to look at Tony. “I am kind of in a situation here.” His voice was still calm and his whole body seemed relaxed. How can this man relax when his life is literally depending on a foreign child wearing a suicide west. “I see that.” Tony was uncharacteristically quiet but who would hold it against him. 

Ignoring him Clint shuffled a few steps back. Cautiously sinking to his knees he pushed the bow away a few more steps. “Я не хочу делать тебе больно. Я здесь, чтобы помочь.”(I don’t want to hurt you. I am here to help.) The young boy was looking at Tony and back towards Clint. “I can understand America.” His accent was clear to hear and his grammar wasn’t really correct but Clint could work with that. “Good. You sister?” He pointed toward the bundle of blankets sitting in the far corner of the room. The boy followed his finger and tensed up.

“I protect her.” He shuffled between the small girl and Tony. Squinting his eyes Tony could finally make out some hair sticking out from the blankets. He hadn’t even seen the girl but Clint apparently knew his surroundings. “That is good. Good brother.” The young boy nodded and relaxed a bit. Clint took the opportunity and raised both of his arms. “I have no weapon. See? Can I come to you and look at the bomb?” The boy looked down at himself and tears welled up in his eyes. A nod was everything it took for Clint to make his way over to the boy. His steps were slow and light in order not to scare the boy. 

“I have seen a lot of bombs. And they are scary for me.” Looking up the boy seemed confused. “You are scared?” Clint nodded and stopped ten feet away from the boy. “Yes. The bomb can kill and I want to go home. I have children.” A few seconds of silence filled the room while Clint took a look at the west. “Can I touch it? I try to take it away.” A whimper escaped the boy. “You know how?” Suddenly a noise scared him. Tony had taken a step accidentally kicking a tin can. The boy immediately tensed up and lifted the switch in an attempt to scare the strange man away. And Tony wasn’t laying when he thought that the boy was successful.

“Hey. Look at me. eго зовут Тони и он мой друг. Friendly.” Speaking Russian seemed to put the boy at ease again. “Friend?” “Friend.” Finally getting his hand at the west Clint began to move away some of the wires. “I need help. Can Tony come here?” The boy nodded and looked down at Clint. “I know that you are scared. I am scared too. But we will help you and your sister.” Tony on the other end of the room opened his suit completely. Stepping out of the shell he ordered Jarvis to look out for enemies. “How can I help.” Clint mentioned towards the little control box. “Open that.”

Disarming the bomb wasn’t new to Clint but he had to look out for the boy. He was getting more and more agitated and uncomfortable around the two man. “This is the last step boy. I will cut this wire. Than you can let go.” A nod confirmed that the boy understood. “Alright. I am done. You can let go.” No one moved or even breathed for a second when the red button moved up. When nothing happened the boy jumped towards his sister. “мы в безопасности.” (We are safe.)

Tony smiled at the family reunion but he knew that they had to get out of there. “Clint, we have to go. Now.” Clint grabbed his bow and nodded. “Hey kids. Do you want to come with us?” The boy hesitated for a second but then he nodded. “You keep us safe, Clint?” Laying a hand on the boys shoulder he crouched down. “Yes. And you are very attentive.” Pushing the children towards the door Tony waved at him. “I is free. I should take the girl and come back for the boy. I will send Thor to collect you.” 

Tony already made a move to grab the girl when the boy shoved him with all his energy. “Do not take away, Alina.” Backing up Tony glanced at Clint. A sigh escaped the archer. “I know you love your sister. My son is just like you but my friend will take her to our ship and then he will take you. Your sister will be safe.” Grabbing Clint by his arm the boy pulled him down. “You come with us.” A smile ghosted over Clint’s face. “My other friend will come for me. His name is Thor and he can fly like Tony. Please trust me.” The boy slowly nodded and let go of his sister. “You harm her and I kill you.” 

The anger of the boy was clear to hear and Tony made sure to make him know that he understood. “I will keep her safe until you see her again.” He picked up the girl who was around 7 years old and cradled her close to his suit. “I will be quick.” Remaining behind Clint pushed the boy back into the room and tried to distract him. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.” The boy was still looking at the door Tony and his sister vanished behind. “Andrej. Her name is Alina. Do you have one son?” Opening his vest Clint pulled out his Stark phone. “I have one son and one daughter. And soon I will have another son.” Andrej looked at the picture and smiled. “She is like Alina old? She is 7?” 

Clint nodded and swiped to the left. “Cooper is 13 and Lila is 7. How old are you?” “I am 12.” At that moment Tony landed outside the door. “Alina is safe. Time to get you. Thor will be here any minute. Steve and Natasha are making their way toward the jet.” Clint nodded and grabbed both of Andrej’s shoulders. “On the plane, there will be a few people. They are my friends and I trust them with my life and my children. They will not harm you or your sister.” Andrej seemed to trust Clint and made his way over to Tony. “Take me to Alina ”

…………….  
Fifteen minutes later the whole team was on board of the jet with Clint sitting in the pilot seat. “Andrej, take Alina and come here. Have you been on a plane?” Shaking his head he stared at all the buttons. “Sit down and tell me about your sister and you. Do you like music?” 

The rest of the team watched how Clint interacted with the children and smiled. The kids both seemed to be comfortable but neither of them wanted to leave the other out of sight. Good for them that Clint was excellent at flying and talking at the same time. Tony was smiling and went over to Natasha. “How does he do that? Andrej is so at ease with him all the time.” Natasha leaned back in her seat and picked up an ice pack. “He has the gift to see the intentions of people. He knows what they are thinking and what they are about to do. Gives him the chance to say the right thing,”

The rest of the flight was mostly silent with the children sleeping at Clint’s side. Tony had taken over the control of the jet giving Clint a´the chance to take Alina and Andrej towards the seats. To all of their surprise Alina wanted to sleep in Clint’s arms. And Andrej seemed to be okay with that. “You are blond like father was. You remind her of him and she feels safe.” You could clearly see how proud Clint was to hear that. He kept watch over the children for the entire ride. 

Soon they were in New York almost at their destination. “Hey Andrej, wake up. We are almost there. I am going to take you both to a doctor to look if we can help, alright?” The boy didn’t seem convinced but a look at his sister confirmed that she needed a doctor to look over her. The team accompanied the trio to the medical bay while the others waited outside the door. The door opened and a doctor stepped out of the room, the little girl at her side. “I am taking Alina to take an x-ray of her arm. She holds it like it is hurting.” Stark nodded and let the doctor pass when shouting emitted from the room Clint and Andreij were in. 

“Déjà-vu.” was the only thing Tony could say before running towards the shouting. The whole team backed him up and entered the room. “What the hell is going on, Clint?” Natasha had pulled her baton from her side and swung it to the full extent. “No. NO. Stand down. He doesn’t want to hurt us.” Tony backed away from the commotion and snarled. “Sure. He is pointing a scalpel and a syringe filled with who knows what at you.” 

“And he doesn’t mean to hurt me. Ain’t I right, Andreij?” Clint was still going towards the boy while Tony couldn’t help but stare at his team member. Muttering something in Russian Clint slowly took the scalpel and syringe from Andreij. The weapons were passed on to Natasha and the boy was pulled into a hug. “He did not want to hurt us. He was scared that we took his sister and he remembered the way Hydra was always separating them from each other. He was just scared.”

It didn’t take long after that to help the siblings. The team could finally wrap up the case. Tony was sitting in his lab and stared at a monitor when Clint entered with his bow. “Hey Tony, my quiver got broke on the last mission could you...” He noticed that Tony wasn’t even listening to him but starred at a video of what had happened in the infirmary. “Why are you watching that? Nothing happened to any of us.” Tony spun around on his chair. “And I want to know why. The boy was a threat. Especially with the bomb west. You were standing there like nothing happened, like Andreij wasn’t holding both of our lives in his little shacking hands.”

Clint pulled himself onto the work bench and looked down on his hands. “Of course I looked relaxed. It was our only chance to calm the boy down. He wasn’t really a threat, like I said: He was scared.” Tony shook his head. “How did you know? Why wouldn’t he bomb us to death?” Clint looked up from his hands and saw Tony’s worry. “I saw it in his eyes. There were tears clouding his eyes and he had the same look Barney had when he wanted to safe me from my father. It was the look of a boy who wanted to help, wanted to protect his sister. He was desperately hoping that we would safe him and Alexa. That we would take the responsibility from his shoulders. ” 

Tony Stark nodded and made eye contact with Clint. “And you knew that for sure? You weren’t just trying to be a hero?” Chuckling Clint nodded. “I was sure. I am already a hero. No need to pretend.” There was a minute of silence but Tony smirked. “I must say birdy. You have an exceptional interpersonal intelligence.” With that the two of them went towards the elevators, joining their team in the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay positive and spread love ♥

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I feel stupid for no reason at all. Just because you don't have the best grades or someone is smarter than you doesn't mean that you are dumb. There are different types of intelligence and I wanted to explore them a bit or just show them to you. Maybe this message helps you a bit with the struggle with yourself :).


End file.
